Chapter 10: An Uncanny Connection

Cole continued to retch and dry heave until he was certain his body had given up all that it could offer. He closed the toilet lid and sat on top of it, resting his elbows on his thighs, holding his head in his hands. The nausea was gone but dizziness had taken over. He rubbed his face with his hands and felt that he was much warmer than normal, even for a conduit.

He wanted to remove his jacket but then his body began to shiver.

Zeke noticed Cole's shivering and immediately placed a hand on his forehead. Color began racing away from Cole's face.

"Roger?" Zeke yelled out. Cole had fallen limp in his arms. Zeke gently slugged him over his shoulder and carried him back to the bedroom.

"Roger, get your ass up here!" Zeke placed Cole back on the bed and waited for Roger to arrive.

Roger made his way upstairs and spotted Zeke in the bedroom, removing Cole's jacket.

"Wha-what happened?"

"Our boy's running a fever. And judging by how violently he's shivering, it's a high one."

"Come on, let's get him under the duvet." When Roger touched Cole's arm he recoiled, as if he had touched a flame.

"Hell on earth, he's burning up. At this rate, I could cook our dinner on him." Roger said. "But what happened to him? He was doing just fine earlier."

Zeke raised a brow and removed part of the duvet that was covering Cole's left leg. He rolled up Cole's pant leg.

"That right there." Zeke pointed to the bite mark.

"What the hell is that?" Roger took two steps back.

"Exactly what you think it is. I'd say it's been a good three hours, give or take. Some people show symptoms in less than half that time. But all he's got to show for it is this slam-dunk of a fever."

"I don't understand...this can't be real."

Zeke ducked out of the room and went to the bathroom. He picked up the abandoned scanner off of the floor and brought it with him to the bedroom.

"What do you make of this then?" He tossed the scanner at Roger. Roger caught it and took a look.

Clean, nothing less.

Cole didn't show any signs of turning...yet. Some can take longer than others. But not every person bitten turns. Cole's body was different, making his scenario harder to predict. Everything was different.

"I wouldn't call this rare, but it's certainly not an impossibility."

"Is it some form of immunity or something?"

"Maybe not so much immunity but perhaps the work of an enhanced immune system. His body is fighting the infection which would explain the burning fever. But to be frank, I probably know as much as you at this point.."

"What do we do then?"

"All we can do is help him get through that fever. He has a fever meritable enough to send him to a hospital."

"What are the orders then, doc?" Zeke asked.

"I think I spotted a river nearby here. Grab a bucket and go get some cool water. Cool rags will help him get that fever down. It's the best we can do without the proper medication. Plus we should keep him well hydrated. The remaining water bottles we have are most likely piss warm now. Won't do him any good." Roger said.

"Alright, fresh water from the river. Got it. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of for now. Keep an eye on him while I take care of our dinner. Once that's done, I'll keep an eye on him while you're at the river."

"You got it chief."

"Oh and Zeke?"

"Yeah?"

"Watch yourself out there. I heard some very distinct clicking earlier."

Zeke nodded and took a seat by Cole's side. Roger had stepped out of the room

"Roger?"

"What's up?"

"If our boy here starts turning, don't get trigger happy, alright?"

"Here comes another threat..."

"Leave that part to me." Zeke then fell silent, staring intently at Cole. Roger took that as a sign that he could leave, but could not prevent his from jaw dropping a bit.

Roger knew that he had another death threat coming his way; he entertains them at this point. Some were more gruesome, violent, and arguably more creative than the last. But he was spared this time. That's how Roger was certain this was serious.

Roger nodded and returned to the kitchen, glad that he killed off the flame before going upstairs. In the amount of time he unexpectedly spent upstairs, the food would have burned to a crisp. He worked to start up another flame but faint sounds caught his attention.

The sounds of groaning, moaning, and clicking.

There had to be a nest of them nearby.

After eating a fulfilling dinner, Zeke had stepped out. It's been over an hour since then and Roger had begun to worry. The river wasn't obscenely far from them, but it shouldn't be taking Zeke this long. Even if Zeke had encountered any infected, he is still a sharp man, able to think quickly on his feet in the most dire of situations.

Roger sat by the window, watching the calm scenery, occasionally turning his attention to Cole. The sun was setting, painting the sky an in a graceful mess of pink, yellow and orange. What was once a calm and comforting breeze and had turned into a harsher one, signifying that the temperature was to take a deep nose dive once the sun had completely checked out for the day.

After the outbreak, there has been a shift in the weather pattern in this area. The winters had become especially brutal and the summers unbearably searing. Early October in Texas now normally had temperatures between 40-50 degrees. But it felt more like 30-40 degrees, possibly even less. Roger wouldn't be surprised if it dipped below freezing tonight.

Roger cracked the window open, letting the harsh October breeze slip through. He hoped the cooler air could help break Cole's fever break a bit, as it increased in intensity once Zeke left. Cole was currently sweating profusely and shivering violently. Once he opened the window, the sweating slowed down and the shivering ceased, showing signs of slight improvement. When Roger looked back to the window, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"The hell?"

Snowflakes; tiny and falling slowly, but falling nonetheless. It appeared to still be too warm for it to stay on the ground, melting upon contact, but if it continued on into tonight, it had the potential to stick to the ground and accumulate. Roger continued to watch the falling snow for another hour until he heard footsteps downstairs, he had an idea of who it was, but his hand went to his gun just in case. He heard the footsteps coming upstairs and he pulled out his gun, pointing it at the doorway. Zeke stepped into view, still shaking off a few lingering snowflakes when he noticed the gun pointed directly it him. He smirked once Roger dropped his gun and tucking it back into its holster.

"Good call. I could have been a crazed hunter for all you knew." Zeke said.

"Can't be too careful is what I like to say."

"Good principle to hold." Zeke said, stepping into the room, placing the bucket on the ground.

"Sorry I took so long. Had to maneuver around some infected and an abnormal amount of bloaters."

"I will admit you worried me for a moment, but I knew you could hold your own." Roger responded.

"Yeah, I guess you held me to that." Zeke responded.

Roger sighed. The guilt may never end.

"Look, for whatever worth it still has, I am still really sorry. I shouldn't have listened. " Roger responded softly, turning his attention back to the falling snow, which had significantly intensified.

"I know." Zeke said.

They remained silent for a moment.

"Think it's anything significant? The snow I mean." Zeke asked, hoping to push the tension out of the room.

"Maybe about an inch, two at most. It's weird though. We normally don't get snow until about the beginning of November."

"You know, we are a bit over due for a big storm. Think this'll be the year?" Zeke walked over by the window and watched the snow fall.

"I'd like to say no, but it doesn't seem to be going in that direction."

Roger has always had an uncanny connection with the weather. He can feel the slightest shift in the air and could see a storm up to a week in advance. He claims it's something in the clouds, the air, the stars and that it was easy if you're looking for the right thing.

Zeke used to be skeptical, calling it pure luck when Roger predicted what the temperatures would be throughout the day, the rest of the week, and the entire month. He could predict the exact pattern of a heat wave and how long it would last. The clouds seemed to come and go at his command. Zeke chalked it all up to coincidence or Mother nature seemingly deciding to take a mortal lover.

But Zeke had to eat his words towards the end of 2022. That fall and winter, Mother nature had arrived in a torrential fury of snow and wind for three straight months; from October to December. And Roger predicted it all, from beginning to the sweet merciful end. Zeke called him a freak of nature for the rest of 2023. Out of love of course.

A groan from Cole shook the both of them out of their respective thoughts. Zeke took his bag off his back and sifted through it. He pulled out some rags he managed to salvage while fetching the water and handed them to Roger.

Roger went over to the bucket and soaked the rag. He rang out any excess water then placed it on Cole's forehead. Cole shivered briefly before relaxing, gratefully accepting the cold.

"We should check on him regularly. This fever could be a stubborn one."

"Should I get a fire started? It looks like this night will be colder than normal. I was worried the water would freeze on my way here."

"Looks like we'll be dropping below freezing. The snow might stick. Preliminary snow fall, 1-3 inches."

"Chief?" Zeke snapped Roger out his thoughts.

"Sorry what?"

"A fire? There's a fireplace in this room." Zeke said.

"Er... yeah, but not too toasty. Excessive heat won't do any good for his fever."

Zeke went downstairs to salvage the firewood sitting by the fireplace in the living room.

Once he left, Roger turned his attention back to the snow, which was falling impossibly lighter than but continued to accumulate.

"I hope this season doesn't end up being too brutal... "

He looked up at the sky and stared at the half moon shining in the sky. His frown deepened, he didn't like what they were saying.

"Stay calm..."

A minute later, Zeke had returned to the bedroom with the fire wood and carefully placed two pieces in the fireplace. He set the rest down nearby to cycle through when needed. As nice as it would be for the room to be nice and toasty, for Cole's sake, the room couldn't be too warm.

Cole groaned once more, opened his eyes and opened his mouth to try to speak. But his throat was too dry to allow anything more than air pass through.

Zeke quickly went downstairs to find a suitable cup, but the best he found was a wine glass. He went back upstairs, dipped the glass in the cool bucket of water, filling it to the brim. He helped Cole sit up and brought the glass to his mouth. Cole slowly drank the water, slightly amazed by the fact that something that in large quantities would kill him but was now playing a part in healing him.

The world is a funny place indeed.

"God I feel like shit." Cole croaked out as he plopped back into the pillows, passing out instantly.

Zeke laughed softly. He placed a hand on the cloth, frowning when he found it significantly warmer since he put it on his head just a handful of minutes ago. He looked up at Roger to tell him how quickly Cole's was but found him still staring out the window, completely lost in his thoughts. The snow was incredibly light and about an inch was sitting on the ground.

Once again, Roger called it right.

"Roger?"

"One inch, two at the most should it continue. Temperatures will most be likely in the forties mid day tomorrow, that should melt it significantly. Humidity 52%, wind should calm back down to a soft breeze, low of-"

"Roger!"

"What? Sorry."

"Cole's burning through these rags fast, we'll need to change them regularly. We might need to work in shifts tonight." Zeke said.

"Yeah, why don't I take the first shift, you need to rest."

"You sure? You've been working pretty hard too." Zeke reasoned.

Roger closed his eyes and smiled a bit. He couldn't tell if this is a step in fixing their friendship or just a spur of the moment thing.

He preferred to go with the latter.

"I insist. I'll wake you up just before dawn. We don't have anywhere to go tomorrow, so we might as well take advantage and get a good amount of sleep.

"You got it chief." Zeke went over to the door and closed it before settling down on a cushioned lounge chair.

"Comfortable enough for you? We could maneuver one of the smaller sofas downstairs up here."

"I've slept on worse, but I'll let you know if it comes to that." Silence. "You know, it's a good thing we have you here with us."

Roger was taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah without that ability of yours we'd probably wander into a freezer without so much as a 'watch out'. So thanks for having our back man."

Within moments, Zeke was fast asleep.

Roger exhaled deeply before looking back out the window and noticed the snow had stopped, leaving just over an inch and a half on the ground. He looked up at the night sky, studying the stars and the moon, searching for any more secrets.

"You're going to be big aren't you...but not as big as the other two. You'll be furious but quick, merciful. Thank goodness, not as bad as I thought.

Roger leaned forward and rested his arms on the windowsill.

There's finally better control...

The room was toasty now, almost a little too much.

Roger closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and willed some of the October air to enter the room.